Over the month of December some stores have been in "we never close" mode. Target and Wal-Mart having been staying open until midnight and Toys 'R' Us and Macy's have been keeping the lights on all night for holiday shopping procrastinators.
For the first time ever, Toys 'R' Us will stay open 24 hours a day from now until Christmas Eve, when the doors will shut at 10p.m. They retailer's five temporary Toys 'R' Us "Express" stores in the Twin Cities and its Babies 'R' Us are not included in the frenzy.
The Macy's at Rosedale Center is one of a dozen of the chain's stores across the country to go 24 hours. It's the second year the store in Roseville has offered marathon shopping. Although Macy's won't share its sales numbers for the 83 hours of selling marathon, Macy's store manager at Rosedale, said the overnight blitz attracts hundreds of customers from around the area each night.
Sure, there are a few procrastinators, but mostly these people are people who have different lifestyles and different work schedules. When you shop at 2 in the morning, there's really a need. There are a ton of individuals in their working uniforms, third-shift workers, husbands and wives who work opposite schedules and come in when someone can watch their children. And then there are groups of women who went to a late show and came shopping after wards.
So, is it worth it? Retailers say staying open the extra hours are worth it. Experts say only two costs go up with the 24-hour concept: labor and utilities. If merchants can grab extra sales on the graveyard shift, it may be worth it. However, workers say different. They are just feeling more burned out leading up the holiday.
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